Preview

Shakhtar are the sole league leaders. Luis Castro’s men claimed 5 victories at the start and have the maximum points now (15), while all the other sides have lost at least once. In the previous round, the Orange-and-Blacks thrashed Mariupol 5-1 in Kharkiv, increasing their UPL scoring performance average to 3 goals in 90 minutes.

Recently, Shakhtar got to know their Champions League group stage opponents: those are Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb, and Atalanta. Fans can already buy Champions League tickets and packages for home matches, though the Miners have yet to play the league games vs Olimpik and Zorya before the start of the European campaign, plus many players will go on international duty in early September.

Olimpik are sitting bottom of the table, claiming only 1 point in 5 rounds. The team started the season unsuccessfully under the leadership of the Brazilian Julio Cesar: they suffered defeats against Dnipro-1 (0-2), Kolos (0-1), Oleksandriia (1-2), and Karpaty (1-3). The foreign specialist was dismissed, with Ihor Klymovskyi again performing the duties of the manager in the game vs Dynamo, with Olimpik managing to interrupt their losing run against the vice-champions of the country by securing a 1-1 draw at Olympiyskyi through a goal by Serhii Politylo. The Donetsk team’s captain Dmytro Hryshko, who had previously played without being replaced, was sent off in the second half and will miss the match against Shakhtar.

Head-to-head record

The clubs opposed each other 12 times in the Championship: 8 wins by Shakhtar and 4 draws with a goal difference of 37–11. The Miners claimed 5 away wins and lost points just once (22-7).

Previous league meeting

On the 2nd of December 2018, the match in Kharkiv ended in a 2-2 draw. Shakhtar scored an early goal: in the 7th minute, Moraes finished off a move by Stepanenko, Bolbat, and Taison. Early in the second half, Pasic equalized, with Balashov later putting Olimpik in front with his free-kick. In the final stages, the Miners were attacking all the time: Taison shot wide from about 20 metres, Makhnovskyi saved the attempts by Nem, Ismaily, and Patrick, and the denouement came in the stoppage time when Moraes got on the end of Alan's delivery and grabbed a brace.